BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Charlane Brown-Wyands
Charlane Brown is a lifelong New Yorker, born and raised in Queens. Following in her father's footsteps, she joined the NYPD in 1986 and served the people of New York for 26 years. While serving as a police officer, Ms. Brown obtained a law degree from New York Law School and rose up the ranks in the police department, eventually becoming one of the NYPD’s first African American woman to serve as a Captain and Deputy Inspector. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in police studies and, among other things, is an expert in internal investigations, police community relations, training, bias based policing and equal employment opportunity laws. Since retiring from the NYPD, Ms. Brown has continued to practice law and is a professor of criminal justice and law enforcement at Berkeley College. Ms. Brown has also contributed to numerous publications about counterterrorism and policing. She is a member of the NYC Bar Association, the NYS Bar Association, Linc Inc., and Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc.
Upon appointment to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Ms. Brown said: “Joining the Civilian Complaint Review Board is the perfect opportunity for me to utilize all the skills I have acquired throughout my life, as an officer, a lawyer, a professor, a New Yorker and someone who has raised young boys of color in this great city. I want to thank Commissioner Sewell and Mayor Adams for once again giving me the opportunity to serve the people of New York.”
Ms. Brown received a bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York and a law degree from New York Law School.